Woke before sunrise again. Another anxious pull back of the curtains to find Huey hade smiled upon us again. A magnificent day. Ye Haaa! We opened the back doors for a bit to take it in as we lay in bed. As today we were doing Milford sound. One word covers what happened for the rest of the day;
WOW!!!!, that’s it.
Well, for those that have not been there before, I will elaborate. We packed up quickly and left at 7:30. The cruise that we planned on taking left at 9:45 and they say it takes 2 ¼ hours to drive the 121km. We also needed to be there 20 min before departure and it takes 10 min to walk from the car park. So we had a bit of time to make up. We decided no stops, straight on through and get the scenic shots on the way back. We were doing well, through some lovely scenery and the weather conditions were truly magical. It was crystal clear with some low fog on some of the mountains and the lovely warm light of the early morning. I was putting in the overtime as the passenger working the cameras and video. Then, we hit our first hiccup. Mirror lakes. There was no way we could just cruise past this. So we stopped. Truly amazing mountain vista reflected in the water with a wisp of mist hanging above the ground. No photo would ever come close, but I’ll try none the less.
We got back to the van and I asked Zuz to find her inner German. And by crickey, she did!!! In the end, we made it with 10 minutes to spare. But that trip up was something truly amazing. I don’t think my mouth was closed very much at all. Not a trip to do on a motorbike with an open-faced helmet. The cleared avalanches, the fog and mist we went in and out of, the light. Head and shoulders above any road I have driven anywhere. Then there was the Homer tunnel with its 1200m of darkness. It was though it was a portal to a different world emerging in a winter wonderland of snow, mist and gigantic peaks everywhere. The forests we went through were not to be left behind either. Then if that was not enough as we made it to the car park and I saw the sound, the water and reflections for the first time several expletives involuntarily escaped from the month.
We got our gear and took a real quick walk up to the passenger terminal and we got the tickets for the 9:45 cruise (2h15m), underwater observatory and a buffet lunch in the café for a measly $100NZ each. A bargain price, even before getting on the boat. As for the boat, it was awesome. 3 levels to fit lots of people, but first things first, time for a cuppa out on one of the decks. The boat would have been 20% full at max as we left the wharf. One of the advantages of getting the 9:45 in the off-season.
Zuz and I rugged up and headed for the top deck. This place is amazing. It was so unreal that it was like being in a movie. Whatever you imaging it could be, it will far exceed your expectations. Our skipper was game and took us within meters of the fiord walls. And just as close to the waterfalls that fells from 100m or so. After 30 minutes I had a sore neck from looking up so much. The cameras were going off like machine guns. There is nothing like cruising through a waterway where spires rise out of the water up to the dizzy heights of between 1300 and 2000m. I am still guessing you would be off the mark guessing what it would be like. I forgot to mention the waterfalls. With 7m of rain a year and a good dose of it yesterday (some 252mm) there were 100’s if not even 1000’s of them.
After this sensory overload we decided to go down to the bow of the boat for a different view picking up a tea for Zuz on the way. Within 90sec of arriving we spotted some dolphins out the front of the boat. Next thing we noticed that 3 of them were riding the bow wave. Outstanding. They stayed a while too. Next, some eagle eye spotted some penguins on the shore that we cruised up to for a good look.
We made it out of the sound into the Pacific. Even the views from here were majestic as we turned around and headed back past seal rock. Yep we saw seals too. Zuz even managed to make a friend of one of the guides. The dolphins gave us a return visit as we cruised past many more waterfalls. Then we motored up to the huge Stirling Falls, dropping 155m straight into the drink. We knew we were in trouble when they said they were closing the doors for this one. Some brave souls stayed on the bow. I was on the upper deck for this one. The blast of wet wind from the waterfall hitting the water was surprisingly powerful. We got within 10m or so of it and I really tested the water resistance of the camera and even myself to some extent. We both got a wee bit wet, but oh how exhilarating was that!
Then we went around the corner to the underwater observatory. It took us about 10 m underwater and was pretty cool. There were heaps of fish, rare black coral and the size of one of the muscles down there would have filled a dinner plate. There was a fair bit of info in the foyer that was very educational. The rain chart would be off the scale back home. Then the next boat came and took us back to the wharf to complete the sensory overload with by now, sore back and very cold hands. Yet again it was left to someone else, this time in a plane flying high near the peaks to give us a reference of the scale. It shows as nothing but a dot in the photos. We disembarked having experienced the most impressive vistas my eyes have had the pleasure to witness. Mother nature at her creative best. No wonder this is the No1 thing to see in New Zealand, Possibly the globe?
Sat down to a buffet lunch where the wedges were a treat. We even threw around the idea of going on a flight, but it just did not take off. No disappointment though. We were both well satisfied with what we had seen and were happy to leave with our million photos and memories. We drove up to ‘The Cascades’ and after being accosted by a Kea parrot while eating a snack we walked up the path. We ended up at a vicious torrent of water that had carved many holes, shapes and hollows in the rocks by its march to abide to the laws of gravity. Yet another example of Mother Nature’s raw power on show.
Back in the van and back through the winter wonderland where the waterfalls seemed to have increased through the day due to snowmelt. Back through the portal to the real world and pulled over when we were allowed to (due to avalanche warnings) throw a snowball or two and tick that off the list. Our next little walk was through a very green forest to Moraine Cascades. Everything that stood still was covered by either moss or some sort of lichen which made the place as green as the city of Oz. Ended up at another raging torrent of a creek. The noise was awesome.
A few more viewpoint stops on the wayback saw us well and truly buggered. I think being at a heightened state of excitement for that long is very draining. Took a quick detour into Te Anau for supplies and back to the same van park for the night, but in a different spot. What a DAY!!!